Proposal #1
a) PrecedentVisiona 2 is an exhibition created by Danish interior and furniture designer Verner Panton in 1970. It was comissioned by Bayer and took place in a boat rented by the company. Bayer wanted to create a showcase for its artificial fibers, inviting artists and designers to show its possible applications. Panton designed a hypothetical future with organic forms and vibrant colours. The rooms are also filled with smells and sounds, remaining as a still impressive example of experience design. All images: Verner Panton

b) IdeaTranslate some of Panton’s installations to virtual reality. A brainwave sensor could be used to trigger unexpected interactions with the environment — change colours and lightning, move shapes, etc. Kinect sensing could be added to make walls and objects even more responsive.

Proposal #2a) PrecedentIn the Woods is an interactive installation by swiss designer Camille Scherrer. It combines computer vision and projection mapping to recreate users’ shadows as silhouettes of animals. The half-imaginary creatures are also programmed with simple animations to interact with people.

a) IdeaA In-the-Woods-like world, with multiple shadows of the user. A Kinect can be used to track his/her movements. Animals choice can vary according to the mood, read through a brainwave sensor.

Brief
Mini project: focus on design/narrative make a “self-portrait”, 15 secs long communicate something about you…due on APRIL 4th.

Description
A 15-second narrative with organic elements, code lines, numbers, and basic shapes, following this order.
The scene might be interpreted both as a representation of things I’m working on/interested at and as subjects/aesthetics that I feel trapped in.

Idea
Inspired by 2013 movie Gravity, a game in which the controls are the biggest challenge. The player has to go through rings floating around an abandoned station. Like in the movie, the propulsion system might save you — or make you drift forever in space.

1 – Generative Sound Landscape
A landscape made out of data from a song — or multiple songs, maybe? The idea would be explore it as you listen to the sound, making connections to the virtual world.

2 – Generate Sounds on Landscape
Connected to the previous idea, but with more interaction. In this one the user triggers different sounds as it walks through an abstract geometric environment.

3 – At Daybreak
Inspired by a short story from the book Cosmicomis, by Ítalo Calvino. Each story in the book starts with a scientific statement and then takes it to an imaginative and surreal ground. The statements — and stories — are related to the evolution of the universe.
“At Daybreak” shows characters struggling to adapt as matter condenses for the first time.

Some references from the last class reminded me of other not-so-optimistic VR examples.
First, Win Wenders movie Until the End of the World.

The plot is confusing and includes a pre-apocalyptic event. What I remember from 1999, though, is that everybody ends up addicted to this new technology that can record your dreams — and play it again for you.

Second, an episode from the TV series Black Mirror, called “The Entire History of You.” in the episode, people are continuously recording their lives through a device — directly connected their brains, it seems. Like in the previous example, virtual* ends up taking over reality, with characters getting addicted to past experiences.
*Though I’m not sure if the recorded scenes would be considered “virtual reality.”